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CHAPTER 18. PERSONAL PRONOUNS |
Pronouns are words which can be used in the place of nouns. The personal pronouns
in the following sentences are underlined.
e.g.
She will do the work
herself.
They gave
it to
him.
We want to know
who was there.
In the following examples, pronouns are used in the place of nouns,
instead of repeating the nouns.
e.g. I saw a
boy on the steps.
He seemed to recognize me.
My
friend and her
brother like to ski.
They ski whenever
they can.
In the first example, the pronoun
he is used instead of repeating the
noun
boy. In the second example, the pronoun
they is used instead
of repeating the nouns
friend and
brother.
1. The subjective case
The following English personal pronouns were listed in Chapter 1. They
are usually referred to as indicated below:
| | Singular | Plural |
| First Person | I | we |
| Second Person | you | you |
| Third Person | he, she, it | they |
Thus,
I is referred to as the
first person singular;
we is referred
to as the
first person plural;
you is referred to as the
second person;
he,
she and
it are referred to as the
third person singular; and
they is referred to as the
third person plural.
These pronouns are said to be in the
subjective case, because they can
each be used as the subject of a verb. In the following examples, the
personal pronouns in the subjective case are underlined.
e.g.
I am ready.
He is fortunate.
She is a teacher.
It is raining.
We are coming.
You are right.
They are determined.
The agreement of verbs with subjects which are personal pronouns has
been discussed in previous chapters.
2. Agreement of personal pronouns with their antecedents
The pronoun
I is used to refer to the speaker or writer. The pronoun
you is used to refer to one or more persons or things which are being
addressed by the speaker or writer. The pronoun
we is normally used
to refer to the speaker or writer together with one or more other people.
When a pronoun stands for a noun which has already been mentioned, the
noun is sometimes referred to as the
antecedent of the pronoun.
e.g. The
apples are cheap, but
they are not ripe yet.
In the preceding example, the noun
apples is the antecedent of the
pronoun
they.
The antecedents of pronouns usually precede the pronouns. However, a
pronoun may also stand for a noun which follows the pronoun, provided
that it is obvious to what the pronoun is referring.
e.g. Because
they are sour, the
apples will be used for cooking.
In this example, the pronoun
they stands for the noun
apples, which
occurs later In the sentence.
a. Male and female antecedents
The third person singular pronouns
he and
she are the only pronouns
in the subjective case which are differentiated with respect to gender.
The pronoun
he is used to refer to male antecedents, and the pronoun
she is used to refer to female antecedents.
e.g. A
girl was sitting on the steps.
She was waiting for her friend.
A
boy was delivering papers.
He seemed to be in a hurry.
In the above examples, the pronoun
she agrees with the female antecedent
girl, and the pronoun
he agrees with the male antecedent
boy.
b. Singular and plural antecedents
English third person pronouns are also differentiated with respect to
number. If the antecedent of a pronoun is singular, a singular pronoun
must be used. If the antecedent of a pronoun is plural, a plural pronoun
must be used.
e.g. I have one
watch.
It is quite accurate.
I have two
watches.
They are quite accurate.
This is my
sister.
She is younger than I am.
These are my
sisters.
They are younger than I am.
This is my
brother.
He is older than I am.
These are my
brothers.
They are older than I am.
In the above examples, the singular pronouns
it,
he and
she agree
with the singular antecedents
watch,
sister and
brother. The
plural pronoun
they agrees with the plural antecedents
watches,
sisters
and
brothers.
As illustrated above, the third person plural pronoun
they can be used
to stand for either male or female antecedents.
e.g. The
men liked to play cards.
They took turns keeping score.
The
women came, but
they did not stay long.
The
men and women greeted each other.
They all knew one another.
c. Human and non-human antecedents
The third person singular pronouns
he,
she and
it usually
distinguish between antecedents which refer to human beings, and
antecedents which refer to things which are not human. The pronouns
he and
she usually refer to human beings. However,
he or
she
may also be used to refer to an animal, if the gender of the animal is
known to the speaker or writer.
e.g. My
aunt is very intelligent.
She has a degree in philosophy.
His
brother was not there, because
he had to work late.
Your
dog is well trained.
He is a good guard dog.
In the first two examples,
he and
she are used to refer to human
beings. In the third example,
he is used to refer to an animal.
If a third person singular antecedent does not refer to a human being,
the pronoun
it is usually used. However, when the thing named by the
antecedent is referred to as if it had human qualities, the pronoun
he
or
she may be used. For instance, ships and countries are sometimes
referred to as
she.
e.g. There is a
robin on the lawn.
It has a nest in that tree.
This is a good
book.
It is interesting and well-written.
The
Bonnie Belle is a sailing ship.
She is very seaworthy.
In the first two examples,
it is used to refer to things which are not
human. In the third example,
she is used to refer to a thing which is
not human.
The third person plural pronoun
they can stand for either human or
non-human antecedents.
e.g. The
children bought ice cream, because
they felt hungry.
The
umbrellas are popular, because
they are inexpensive.
In the first example,
they stands for the human antecedent
children.
In the second example,
they stands for the non-human antecedent
umbrellas.
The main rules for the agreement of the third person pronouns
he,
she,
it and
they with their antecedents can be summarized as
follows:
Agreement of Third Person Pronouns with their Antecedents
| Pronoun | Antecedent |
| he | singular, male, usually human |
| she | singular, female, usually human |
| it | singular, non-human |
| they | plural |
See
Exercises 1 and
2.
A pronoun should not be used to stand for a noun, unless it is obvious
to which noun the pronoun is referring. For instance, in the following
examples, it is not clear to which nouns the underlined pronouns refer.
e.g. My friend was there with her mother.
She was wearing a blue dress.
The children stared at the horses.
They were ready to start.
In the first example, the pronoun
she could stand either for the noun
friend or for the noun
mother. Similarly, in the second example, the
pronoun
they could stand for either
children or
horses.
In written English, when it is not obvious to which antecedent a pronoun
refers, the relevant sentence should be corrected. This can be done either
by repeating the noun, instead of using a pronoun; or by rewriting the
sentence to make the meaning clear. For instance, the preceding examples
could be corrected as follows. It will be assumed that
she refers to
friend, and that
they refers to
horses.
e.g. My friend was there with her mother. My friend was wearing a blue dress.
or
My friend, wearing a blue dress, was there with her mother.
The children stared at the horses. The horses were ready to start.
or The children stared at the horses, which were ready to start.
See
Exercise 3.
3. Special uses of It
The pronoun
it can be used without an antecedent in sentences referring
to general conditions such as the weather or the time.
e.g. It is raining.
It has been a wet summer.
It is too hot here.
It is the twenty-fourth of April.
It is seven o'clock.
It is Friday.
The pronoun
it can also be used in expressions such as the following.
e.g. It would be a good idea to attend the meeting.
It is not necessary to buy tickets in advance.
It will be easy to find the right house.
It was clever of you to think of that.
In these sentences,
it can be thought of as standing for the infinitive
which follows the verb. The ideas expressed in such sentences may be
expressed without the use of
it by changing the infinitive to a gerund,
which is placed before the verb.
For instance, the preceding sentences can be rewritten as follows:
Attending the meeting would be a good idea.
Buying tickets in advance is not necessary.
Finding the right house will be easy.
Thinking of that was clever of you.
See
Exercise 4.
4. The objective case
Objects of verbs have already been discussed in the chapter on
transitive and intransitive verbs. When a personal pronoun is the
object of a verb, the pronoun must be in the objective case. In the
following sentences, the pronouns in the objective case are underlined.
e.g. They need
me.
We like
you.
They understand
him.
I wanted
her to help
them.
We mended
it yesterday.
As shown in the following table, each personal pronoun in the subjective
case has a corresponding form in the objective case.
Personal pronouns in the subjective and objective cases
| Subjective Case | Objective Case |
| I | me |
| you | you |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| it | it |
| we | us |
| they | them |
It can be seen that only the personal pronouns
you and
it have the
same form in the objective case as in the subjective case.
When a personal pronoun is the subject of a verb, the subjective form of
the pronoun must be used.
e.g.
I understand what you mean.
He saw the comet.
In these sentences, the underlined pronouns are the subjects of the
verbs
understand and
saw; therefore, the subjective forms
I and
he must be used.
When a personal pronoun is the object of a verb, the objective form of
the pronoun must be used.
e.g. My friends understand
me.
We saw
him last night.
In these sentences, the underlined pronouns are the objects of the verbs
understand and
saw; therefore, the objective forms
me and
him
must be used.
The rules for the agreement of pronouns with their antecedents are the
same for pronouns in the objective case as for the corresponding
pronouns in the subjective case.
e.g. When your
son won the prize, we congratulated
him.
Your
daughter thinks we have not noticed
her.
When the
letter arrived, we answered
it immediately.
He and I were right, but no one believed
us.
Because the
boats were barely moving, we overtook
them easily.
In the preceding sentences, the pronouns
him,
her,
it,
us
and
them agree with the antecedents
son,
daughter,
letter,
he and I and
boats, respectively.
See
Exercises 5,
6 and
7.
It should be noted that the verb
to be does not take an object. In
formal, written English, when the verb
to be is immediately followed
by a personal pronoun, the pronoun must usually be in the subjective case.
In the following examples, the pronouns following the verb
to be are
in the subjective case.
e.g. It is
I.
That was
he.
This is
she.
Those are
they.
However, in informal English, this rule is usually ignored. In informal
English, when a pronoun immediately follows any verb, including the verb
to be, the objective form of the pronoun is usually used. Thus, in
informal English the sentence
It is I would usually be expressed
It is me, and the sentence
That was he would usually be expressed
That was him.
See
Exercise 8.
As well as being used as the objects of verbs, personal pronouns in the
objective case are used as objects of prepositions.
Prepositions are
words such as
at,
in,
on,
to and
with. A preposition links
the words immediately following it to the rest of the
sentence.
A noun or pronoun which forms part of a prepositional phrase is said
to be the
object of the preposition. For instance, the underlined
pronouns in the following examples are objects of prepositions.
e.g. Please give the book to
me.
We have heard a great deal about
you.
They went with
him.
I bought a present for
her.
He walked across
it.
The cake was made by
us.
Here is a letter from
them.
In the preceding examples, the underlined pronouns are the objects
of the prepositions
to,
about,
with,
for,
across,
by and
from.
See
Exercises 9 and
10.
5. Possessive personal pronouns
Each of the personal pronouns has forms which indicate possession.
For instance, in the following sentences, the underlined words are the
possessive forms of personal pronouns.
e.g. This is
your book.
This book is
yours.
His apartment is large, but
mine is small.
Their marks are higher than
ours.
The subjective, objective and possessive forms of the English personal
pronouns are shown in the following table.
| Subjective Case | Objective Case | Possessive Form used before a Noun | Possessive Form used Independently |
| I | me | my | mine |
| you | you | your | yours |
| he | him | his | his |
| she | her | her | hers |
| it | it | its | [its] |
| we | us | our | ours |
| they | them | their | theirs |
a. Possessive adjectives
As shown in the preceding table, the personal pronouns have two possessive
forms. One form shows possession by preceding a noun. A personal pronoun
in this form may be referred to as a
possessive adjective, since, like
an adjective, it describes the thing to which the noun refers.
In the following sentences, the possessive adjectives are underlined.
e.g.
My bicycle is new.
Does
your uncle play hockey?
His answer was correct.
Her father is not here.
The tree has lost two of
its branches.
He is
our friend.
Their house is one block from the school.
The rules for the agreement of personal pronouns with their antecedents
also apply to the corresponding possessive adjectives. In languages
such as French and Spanish, possessive adjectives agree with the nouns
they precede. However, in English, possessive adjectives agree with
their antecedents, as illustrated in the following table.
Agreement of English Possessive Adjectives with their Antecedents
| Antecedent | Possessive Adjective | Example |
| boy | his | The boy obeys his mother. |
| girl | her | The girl likes her brothers. |
| bird | its | The bird sat on its nest. |
| cows | their | The cows have lost their way. |
In the preceding examples, the antecedents are underlined, and the
possessive adjectives are printed in bold type.
See
Exercise 11.
i. Possessive adjectives used with gerunds
In formal English, when a
gerund is preceded by a personal pronoun, the pronoun must usually be
in the form of a possessive adjective. In the following examples, the
gerunds are underlined, and the possessive adjectives are printed in
bold type.
e.g. The boy said that
his skating had improved.
The girl entertained the guests with
her singing.
We think
our lobbying for new street lights will be effective.
See
Exercise 12.
b. Possessive pronouns
The possessive form of a personal pronoun which can be used independently
can be referred to as a
possessive pronoun, since it can be used in
the place of a noun. In the following sentences, the possessive pronouns
are underlined.
e.g. He did not bring his coat, but I brought
mine.
Our mail has been delivered, but
theirs has not.
In the above examples,
mine stands for
my coat, and
theirs stands
for
their mail.
The following table compares the possessive pronouns with the possessive
adjectives. It can be seen that only
his and
its have the same form
when used as pronouns as when used as adjectives. The possessive pronoun
its is seldom used.
| Possessive Adjective | Possessive Pronoun |
| my | mine |
| your | yours |
| his | his |
| her | hers |
| its | [its] |
| our | ours |
| their | theirs |
Except for the pronoun
mine, all of the possessive pronouns end in
s. However, it should be noted that, unlike possessive
nouns, the possessive personal pronouns are not spelled with an apostrophe.
Care should be taken not to confuse the possessive form
its with the contraction
it's, which stands for
it is or
it has.
In the following sentences, the possessive personal pronouns are underlined.
e.g. That book is
mine.
Are these gloves
yours?
The red bicycle is
his.
Because I forgot my umbrella, she lent me
hers.
Their teacher is stricter than
ours.
Our teacher is relaxed, but
theirs is short-tempered.
See
Exercises 13 and
14.
6. Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are often used when the action described by the verb is directed toward the thing referred to by the subject of the verb.
This use of reflexive pronouns is illustrated in the following examples.
The reflexive pronouns are underlined.
e.g. I washed
myself thoroughly before putting on clean clothes.
Did you hurt
yourself?
Reflexive pronouns can also be used when it is desired to emphasize a personal pronoun.
The reflexive pronouns in the following examples are underlined.
e.g. I
myself saw what happened.
Did he solve the problem
himself?
She did the work
herself.
In these examples, the reflexive pronouns
myself,
himself and
herself are used to emphasize the personal pronouns
I,
he and
she.
The reflexive personal pronouns are listed below.
| Subjective Case | Reflexive Pronoun |
| I | myself |
| you | yourself |
| he | himself |
| she | herself |
| it | itself |
| we | ourselves |
| you | yourselves |
| they | themselves |
It can be seen that in the second person, a differentiation is made between
yourself, which agrees with singular antecedents,
and
yourselves, which agrees with plural antecedents.
It should be noted that the first and second person reflexive pronouns
are formed from the corresponding possessive adjectives, whereas the third
person reflexive pronouns are formed from the corresponding pronouns in
the objective case. This is illustrated in the following table.
| Objective Case | Possessive Adjective | Reflexive Pronoun |
| me | my | myself
|
| you | your | yourself
|
| him | his | himself
|
| her | hers | herself
|
| it | its | itself
|
| us | our | ourselves
|
| you | your | yourselves
|
| them | their | themselves
|
See
Exercise 15.
